🎙️017 | Todd & Jay: Selling Without Selling Out — How Actors Book Commercials
Release Date: 05/07/2024
🎙️057 | Rob & Helen Bee: From Solo Booths to Social Buzz
Offstage Acting
Today’s guests are Rob and Helen Bee — voiceover professionals, podcast hosts, and community builders behind The VO Social, a UK-wide grassroots movement that’s changing how voice artists connect and grow. Rob and Helen talk with Todd Kramer and Jay Reum about the loneliness of the VO life and how they’ve worked to combat it — not just with their podcast, but with real-world meetups, business services, and grassroots support. They share their journey from working VO professionals to running a creative services company tailored specifically for voice artists, helping them with tech,...
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🎙️056 | Kenneth Jay: From Backstage Patience to Onstage Presence
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is Kenneth Jay, a seasoned Canadian actor with decades of experience across theatre, film, and television. Known for his dedication to craft and his deep respect for storytelling, Kenneth has built a career that bridges continents and philosophies. In this inspiring and laughter-filled episode, hosts Todd Kramer and Jay Reum chat with Kenneth about the unique discipline of being an understudy, the art of preparation without certainty, and why truth is always at the center of performance. Kenneth shares his journey from Ottawa to Ryerson Theatre School, his surprising connection...
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🎙️055 | Kym Jackson: How To Hustle Into Hollywood and The Secret Actor Society
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is Kym Jackson — Aussie actor, author, and co-founder of the Secret Actor Society. Kym’s journey spans continents and platforms: she launched her career onstage in Australia, made the leap to Hollywood, and hasn’t stopped working since. You’ve seen her on Criminal Minds, NCIS: LA, This Is Us, and SWAT — or in films like Snitch, Iron Sky, and We Bury the Dead. But acting is just one facet of her creative powerhouse. In this episode, Kym opens up about navigating the business with grace and grit — from managing self-tapes and raising a family to launching an...
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🎙️054 | Todd & Jay: Motivation for When You’ve Got None
Offstage Acting
Today’s episode is a little different — it’s just Todd and Jay, mic’d up and mood-swinging their way through one of those actor chats that starts with “I’m not feeling it” and ends with “okay, I’ve got a little fire back.” In this candid bonus conversation, Todd and Jay explore the ebb and flow of motivation in an actor’s life — why it disappears, how to rediscover it, and the tools they’ve each developed to stay (or get back) on track. From inner drive to outer community, yoga hacks to time-blocking, and even the occasional black hole of self-doubt, this is a...
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🎙️053 | Brendan McNamara: From Child Roles to Casting Roles
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is the brilliant Brendan McNamara — actor, former child star, and founder of Beach Casting, a casting agency making waves across the UK and Ireland. From appearing in films like Angela’s Ashes and War of the Buttons to launching one of the most actor-friendly casting studios in the game, Brendan shares his uniquely personal journey through both sides of the audition table. We talk candidly about the transition from actor to casting director, the kind of performers he loves to work with, the shifting landscape of self-tapes, and why kindness and professionalism still matter....
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🎙️052 | Alexa Morden: Actor, Advocate & Voice of the 98%
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is not only a brilliant actor, but one of the loudest, clearest voices advocating for honesty and safety in the industry. Alexa Morden is best known as the co-creator and co-host of The 98% Podcast — a refreshingly unfiltered look at life for the vast majority of actors who don’t earn their full living from acting. She’s also an award-winning performer in her own right, with credits in Skins, Fresh Meat, The Great Train Robbery, and the indie feature The Colour of Spring, which earned her over 25 Best Actress awards on the festival circuit. In this episode, Alexa opens up...
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🎙️051 | Kezia Burrows: Welsh-Born, RADA-Trained, Game-Changing Actor
Offstage Acting
This week on Offstage Acting, Todd Kramer welcomes the brilliant Kezia Burrows — a Welsh actor whose career spans classical theatre, television drama, and the high-stakes world of motion capture and video game performance. Born in Neath and raised in the seaside village of New Quay, Kezia trained at RADA and now voices and embodies characters in some of the most acclaimed games out there. You might know her as Amanda Ripley in Alien: Isolation, Dr. Emma Fisher in Observation, or from Cyberpunk 2077, CrossfireX, Hellblade, and more. We dive into: 🎭 Her classical training and transition...
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🎙️050 | Todd & Jay: 50th Episode Spectacular! 🎉
Offstage Acting
This week we are celebrating our 50th episode! Hurray. Jay and I talk about where we've been where we are and were going. We catch up with Jay after his month long yoga retreat to India. My experience doing amateur dramatics. And we dive into a few other fun topics all in celebration of the good times we've had so far and the good times yet to come. So here's to the first and the next 50 episodes of the offstage acting podcast! #acting #actingpodcast #actor #actors #act #actorslife
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🎙️049 | Jason Baughan: From The Old Globe to Side Global, It's a Games of Roles
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is Jason Baughan - a classically trained actor whose journey from the West End stage to directing cinematic storytelling in major video games is nothing short of epic. In this episode, Todd Kramer and Jay Reum welcome the multi-talented Jason Baughan (yes, that’s “Baughan,” not “Bourne”) for a spirited dive into his career evolution. Trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Jason started with a love of Shakespeare and a West End run in the Olivier-winning Sunny Afternoon, where he went from guitar player to live stage drummer in front of 900 people....
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🎙️048 | Rob Cairns: From Oxford Stage to Audio Page - Why He Walked Away from Acting
Offstage Acting
Sometimes an actor goes through all of the training and all of the courses and pays all their dues and does very well and enjoys the education and the process… and then steps out into the bright lights of the industry with all its mechanisms and professional trappings, takes a long look around and says: “Meh. You know what? I don't think this is for me. I don't love it.” And today, Todd Kramer and Jay Reum talk to just such an actor. His name is Rob Cairns. But don't worry about good old Rob—he’s landed on his feet. Rob trained at UEA and the Oxford School of Drama, dove deep into...
info_outlineHave you ever watched a TV commercial and thought, “I could do that…” — but had absolutely no idea what actually goes into booking one?
In this Todd & Jay bonusode, the boys turn the spotlight inward as Jay digs deep into Todd’s commercial acting history to unpack what the world of television advertising really demands from actors. From auditions and callbacks to contracts, clients, and the realities of being on set, this episode pulls back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood — and financially impactful — lanes in the acting industry.
Todd shares first-hand experience from years of booking commercial work, breaking down what casting directors look for, how actors should think about usage and longevity, and why commercials can be both a blessing and a strategic minefield if you don’t know what you’re doing.
If you’ve ever wondered whether commercials are “worth it,” how to approach them professionally, or how not to lose your soul (or your future opportunities) chasing a payday — this episode is a must-listen.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 – Opening banter & setting the agenda
03:20 – Why commercials matter more than actors think
07:45 – Todd’s early commercial experiences
12:10 – What commercial casting actually looks for
17:30 – Auditions, callbacks, and the pressure to be “sellable”
23:15 – Money talk: why commercials can change your year
28:40 – Usage, longevity, and the fine print actors ignore
34:20 – Union vs non-union commercial work
40:10 – The client factor: who’s really in charge on set
46:00 – When a commercial job isn’t worth taking
51:45 – Saying no, setting boundaries, and protecting your brand
57:30 – Horror stories, war stories, and lessons learned
01:04:10 – When commercials go right (and why it feels great)
01:10:30 – Commercials vs film & TV acting mindset
01:17:00 – Advice for actors starting out in commercials
01:23:30 – Final takeaways & bonusode wrap-up
🔗 CONNECT & FOLLOW
🎧 Podcast & more: https://offstageacting.com/podcast
📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/offstageacting
❌ X: https://x.com/OffstageActing
📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/offstageacting
🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@offstageacting
🌐 Todd’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/toddkramer
🌐 Jay’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jayreum
#️⃣ HASHTAGS
#acting #actingpodcast #actor #actors #actorslife #commercialacting #tvcommercials #advertising #auditions #workingactor #ToddKramer #JayReum #OffstageActing